Daily Archives: March 25, 2020

Retail Beverage Store Analysis

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Retail Beverage Store Analysis

 

Nooriya Imtiaz

Professor Dagorn

HMGT 2402 E553

3/25/2020

 

The Retail wine store I visited is the 55th street Wine and Spirits its located on 50 W 55th St, the store is pretty small. The wine store is just down the block from the Love Sculpture, four blocks south of Central Pak and within the walking distance from Times Square. They have a great variety of domestic and international wines, and as well as a large selection of spirits. In the store, the wines and spirits were arranged along the walls and in the center of the store, which is typical for a wine shop, each of the areas of the wines was designed by the country and each of the countries is broken down into appellations and grape varieties and also the style of the wines. The customer service and organization were great. The lighting of the store was excellent because the customers could look at the wines and read labels, it is essential for a retail store and the location itself was wonderful, the employees are dedicated their time and effort to each the customers when they come in, and each customer leaves with a bottle of wine or spirits each time they visit the store.

The “Self-talker wine was a Red wine from France is Anthony’s Hill Fetter Cabernet is a Cabernet Sauvignon leads with a deep ruby hue and engaging aromas of dark berries, spice, violets, and cassis. Tasting delivers a multi-layered wine featuring supple favors of blackcurrants framed by subtler tones of mocha, caramel, and toast. Medium-firm tannins imbue structure, balance, and depth to the wine, which closes on a polished note, with a lingering finish. Red Wine from Spain is Volver Single Vineyard Tempranillo it is a Saturated ruby color. The wine has a strikingly aromatic nose that offers a pungent array of fruit and herbal scents. Sweet cherry-vanilla and cola flavors coat the palate and are enlivened by juicy acidity. Sparkling wine not from France is Graham Beck Wine Brut Rose Nv Single, it is from South Africa it has Aromas of fruits, cherry raspberries and few secondary whiffs of minerality.

A lively mousse, but is amazing in mouth, with sub-tie red berry flavors enlivened by bright acidity. Brisk, yet delicate on the palate, mixed with amazing flavors of fresh berries and hints of oyster shell. Red wine from a region unknown made wine is this Red wine is from Israel, it is Barkan Class Classic Cabernet Sauvignon and it is a layer of dark berry spice and layers of oak which are supporting the soft tannins and focused acidity. They also do the delivery and wine tasting.

 

   Red Wine from Spain

Volver Single Vineyard Tempranillo

Color: Ruby

Flavors: Sweet cherry-vanilla and cola

The wine has a strikingly aromatic nose that offers a pungent array of fruit and herbal scents. Supple tannins gain strength on the finish, which strongly repeats the floral qualities and cola.

   Aromas of raspberries, cherries and a few secondary whiffs of minerality. A lively mousse, but fine in the mouth, with subtle red berry flavors enlivened by bright acidity. Brisk, yet delicate on the palate, bursting with flavors of freshly crushed berries and hints of oyster shell.

    Layers of oak, dark berry, and spice are supported by soft tannins and focused acidity.

Good with medium flavored grilled or sauced chicken.

Wine List Analysis

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Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the grape juices that have been fermented. Both sugar and yeast undergo fermentation, resulting in alcohol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Too many, wine may all seem the same, however, wine comes in different styles depending on the grape variety. Wine is produced in many parts of the world and although, it may not seem obvious, studying wine is a long process.

Without much knowledge about the way wine is produced or identifying what the difference in style is, it is difficult having to sit at a restaurant trying to figure out what type of wine will pair of well with the meal desired. Many times, it is difficult for guests to experience fine dining, mainly because we do not know what kind of wine to be in search for. We don’t know whether we want, dry or sweet, one with high acidity or low acidity, or high in alcohol or low. We simply find ourselves dazing through the long wine list.

Looking into more about what wine is, I found myself looking through River Cafe’s list. This is a fine dining restaurant located under the Brooklyn Bridge, also known as a romantic setting, as well as a great culinary destination. As most fancy restaurants, the River Café provides its customers with a long wine list. The way the menu is set, is extremely organized because it begins listing its  wine by the glass, which include drinks like, Champagne and Sparkling wines, white and red wines, as well as Rose. It then sets off to Fortified wines, and to a variety of different wines with the vintage, bottle size, and the price. Interestingly, the wines are separated based on where they were produced. They offer wines from France that are made with grape varieties like pinot noir, or chenin blanc. They specify to Burgundy and other parts of the world such as, California, Oregon, Italy, Austria, and Spain.

Another menu that I looked over was PJ Clarke’s, located on third avenue. This restaurant offers its customers with a wonderful New York City view, and of course a decent wine list. Just like the River Café, they count on Sparkling wine, red and white wines, and Rose. They way this restaurant shares the information on their website is well organized as they separate each type of wine. When clicked, they show the type of wine sold by glass, or by bottle. Additionally, the website provides us with the vintage and where the wine comes from. For instance, it says that a glass of cabernet sauvignon comes from California and has a 2018 vintage.

These two restaurants wine lists are similar in that they enable the customer to know what wine they are drinking, by providing the name of the area in which it was produced as well as the type of grape found within the wine. Additionally, they both provide wine from similar areas like France, Italy, and California. However, the wine lists are set a bit different in that while the River Café displays the cost of each item, PJ Clarke’s list does not. Often times, owners do this in order to attract customers, and have them taste before it may seem too expensive.

 

Retail Beverage Store Analysis

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Sometimes we must accept what life has to offer you and try to drink from every cup, in this case if life offers you wine why not drink a cup or two. We are currently experimenting a rough patch inn the hospitality industry, with everything going on because of COVID 19. During this difficult time people need wine more than ever if you ask me and I know just the places to visit. I visited Smith and Vine during this epidemic outbreak, which was it difficult to walk inside and get a better feeling of their ambience at their location on 317 smiths in Brooklyn. Before arriving, I called a couple times and had difficulty getting in contact with someone but luckily, I knew they were open thanks to their online website.

The reason why I picked Smith and Vine for my retail beverage store analysis is because when visiting their website, they had unique descriptions under they`re bottle of wine, they take their time to write a unique description on how the wine taste. For example, I decided to look at they`re table wine selections and stumbled upon Cantina di Morgo|` Le Giare; Vermentino di Sardegna, Italy 2018 and what stood out to me the most was the description they had underneath the picture of the wine that convinced me right away to purchase it upon my arrival. The description stated “fruity nose. Minerally. Stone fruits, grapefruit peel and summer flowers with a touch of honey” all of this for only $12 dollars count me in!  upon my arrival I was not allowed inside the store because of the precautions the store is taking due to the outbreak of the virus, this made it difficult to ask questions or really get to interact with the sell’s person at the location. I asked the sells person if I could possible call and ask him some questions, he quick denied me and said no, because they need the phone lines open for customers to call and he didn’t have time to answer questions. Which I found rude but at the same time I understood, he finally decided to allow me to ask him three questions while he stood inside and I stood outside.

  1. How has the virus affected business?
  2. Why did you open in this specific area?
  3. What’s your favorite wine and why?

For question number one he explained to me that because of the virus they had to update their online service in order to stay in business, he also explained how spontaneous service has decreased because people can no longer come inside. Finally, he touched briefly on how he can no longer enjoy explaining the romance in wine to his customer instead they do they`re best to do it online.

For question number two he explained how they been open for about 15 years already and they picked this area because it was close to the train, he also told me that they have two other locations which is something I wasn’t aware of.

For question number three he left it as N/A he said he loves wine as a whole and it would be hard for hi to pick just one.

The second retail store I visited was about 12 mins away driving I decided to come here because they allowed people to come in and they have a five star rating reviews on google which made me wonder what do they possibly do to have such great reviews on google. Navy Wine Merchant is located right across the street from the navy yard facility, which was awesome because the navy yard offers lots of different opportunities for the community. upon my arrival I was greeted by the store manager Steve, he was super amazing he made me feel comfortable, in asking questions I atomically noticed why they have such great reviews on google. When I asked him about a shelf talker, he explained to me first what it was and second they don’t have that in their store because without they encourage people to interact with him and ask him questions about the wines they have. While in the store he told me a little bit of the types of wines they have in store, he told me how they receive wines from small producers and families that practice traditional forms of making wine, he also told me that they sell natural wines. When I asked the following questions, his answer was completely different from the sells person I met in smith and vine.

1.How has the virus affected business?

2.Why did you open in this specific area?

3.What’s your favorite wine and why?

Question one he explained how business has been busier than ever because they are receiving more online orders than before.

Question two he told me that they have only 2 ½ years open and reasons why they opened at this specific area is because they have no competition around the neighborhood and they buildings in the area are new which has allowed them to grow with the community.

Question three he told me he lived in France for some time and loves wine but also cant really pick a favorite.

Both experience were very different but the best experience was at the Navy Wine they manager had lots of knowledgeable and was very kind his hospitality was extremely Appreciated Red wine from Italy Sparkling wine not from European Union whit wine from Greece appreciated after such a cold service at Smith and Vine, at the end of the day I went home with two different wines from two different locations with very different experiences.

Wine List Analysis

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Christy Hemphill
Prof Goodlad
HMGT 2402
3/25/2020

WINE LIST ANALYSIS

Wine – A fermented product of grapes. The typical grapes we consumers know about are our green grapes pitted or seedless and the same thing with our red grapes. Come to find out, there are a variety of 700 grapes and counting around the world and these grapes are specialized in the process of producing wines. Those grapes produce wines that are red, white, rose (pink) and sometimes orange. Some wines are cheap and some are very expensive depending on how it was processed, the vintage year, soils, and the aging of the wine. Customers drink wine for celebrations, some consumers do it for the cultures, pairing with a meal, and for relaxation. The famously known countries for making wine are in France and Italy and it is bottled, and sold around the world. Little do people know, there are wines made from Germany, Portugal, New Zealand, Africa, and Asia. I fell upon two restaurants with a wine line from almost every country.

The Blue Ribbon Brasserie is a casual, comfortable restaurant with many locations in the New York area such as Brooklyn, SoHo Manhattan, and Las Vegas. The Blue Ribbon Brasserie located in Brooklyn, Park Slope is a family-friendly version of Soho’s locations with a lively night twist. Their menu has a little bit of proteins, and meats, but it truly favored seafood as their main dish. With a menu such as there’s, I’m sure the consumer would like a glass or a bottle of wine for their meal. The wines list for Blue Ribbon Brasserie is fairly short; two pages to be exact. The wine list contains a full page of red wine, a full page of white wine with four options of rose. What I noticed about this establishment was that the majority of the wines they are selling was from Spain and Italy. The wine list showed the name of the grape, the grape’s region, along with the price per glass and per bottle. The wine list also had some wines from France, California, and Argentina.

Batard is a five-star modern European restaurant that’s located in Tribeca NY. Batard restaurant advertised their expensive list of 800 wines from around the world. The wine list contains 54 pages and within each page, it has an introduction of each wine from each country, with the region, year, and cru of the wine. Bartard wines has a page of bargain burgundy which is the top 20 wines of our burgundies that is priced for $80 or less. Rully Premier CRU ‘GRÉSIGNYG’ michel briday 2014 was one of the wines that was advertised for the price of $72 dollars. What I admire about Batard is that they have a background summary which explains the appellation control statement (AOC), a brief summary about the vineyard, posted pictures, and explained in depth the grape and the flavor of the wine. “The dense and flavorful Aligoté is not to be overlooked, nor is the Domaine’s reference-point Passetoutgrains, a deft and delicious blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir, all from the village of Nuits”. (Page 4 Wine Selection). The wine list showed all the regions in Chablis, Champagne, Burgundy, Cote D’or, Beaujolais, and the list goes on. With Batard restaurant, it shows the importance in their wines and where it was produced in its country.

REFERENCES

https://www.blueribbonrestaurants.com/ Web. Copyright 2019 Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Restaurants

http://www.batardtribeca.com/

Wine Analysis- Nichole Johnson

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Nichole Johnson 

Wine & Beverage Management                                                                 Professor Goodlad 

HMGT 2402 

Wine Analysis 

Bâtard is a modern European restaurant, located in the heart of Tribeca, NYC. Their menu focuses on classic cuisine with a focus on quality, seasonal ingredients and draws inspiration from their Team’s diverse background and experience.  

Roberta’s is a new Brooklyn pizzeria located in Bushwick.  Roberta’s is a celebrity-Chef magnet and is also known for being a bread bakery, having an internet radio station, having a garden and having event space. Roberta’s became an international brand when it started selling frozen pizza at Whole Foods. Their wine list has 12 pages compared to Bâtard.  

Three observations from Bâtard’s wine list are how detailed the wines are itemized re type and appellations, they provided producer spotlight’s that further described the embodiment of the wine and they also had offering of their favorite Burgundy wines that were $80 or less. Three observations from Roberta’s wine list include how simplistic the menu was in design. It was not fancy and for someone like me who is a novice; I would know what type of wine I wanted to select and could easily identify where the wine was coming from. My other note was that they offered large format wines. This is wine that comes in a bottle larger than the standard 750ml. The ones Roberta’s carry come in 1.5L and range from $90 to $300. My last observation was the vintages. The oldest wine vintage was from 1990, then 1996 with others ranging 2012-2018. 

Two similarities from the lists are that both offer a range of sparkling, white, rosé and red wines. And both can cater to the budget of someone willing to spend within $100 to $200 for a bottle of wine. Two differences from the list are that 1. Bâtard lists the grape variety and appellations while Roberta’s will list the region and country and Bâtard does not sell wine by the glass unlike Roberta’s.  

Overall, Bâtard lived up to its classification of a modern European restaurant with an exceptional wine list to accompany its meal offerings. The wine list at Roberta’s matches its outdoorsy vibes with a list that is unintimidating and simple to read. I learned that wines are sold in large format at 1.5L. Before, I imagined them to be decorations with no real idea of what it was. Learning about wines helped me to understand what I was reading in the wine descriptions, and what was important about where the wine was coming from. It also helped me understand why the value of the wine and location is synonymous with the price. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works cited 

Roberta’s Wine List http://www.robertaspizza.com/storage/bushwickwine.pdf 

Bâtard Tribeca NYC Wine List https://assets.website-files.com/589293f958e9d3407be2b9ee/5de6e2964dd1a7145c17ec35_Batard%2012.3.19.pdf 

Complete Guide to all Large Format Wine Bottles, Sizes and Shapes retrieved from https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-educational-questions/size-matters-explanation-large-bottle-formats/ 

Steinthal, Andrew. “Roberta’s”. The Infatuation retrieved from https://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york/reviews/robertas 

Gordinier, Jeff. “At Roberta’s, Pizza and a Broken Partnership.” The NY Times. April 1, 2015 

Retail Beverage Store Analysis

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For this project, my classmate Jada and I chose to visit Slope Cellars, located in Park Slope.  Despite being surrounded by various businesses in such a commercial area, it’s very impressive how easy it was to spot the black and red sign that read “Slope Cellars.” Stepping inside was almost like entering a library. The walls were covered with wine bottles placed on large brown wooden shelves that reached the ceiling. There was even a railing between the fifth and sixth shelf that allowed for a roller library ladder to move throughout the space. To the right two cash registers and a friendly employee who greeted us immediately. Behind him placed on the same shelves were the liquors. Past the cozy wine library was a smaller section of the shop that was separated by color and design. This room was all white and had wine cases stacked on top of one another. After introducing ourselves we waited for our interview to begin. 

Mrs. Lenartz gave us a small tour of the shop as she explained to us how she started her business and her preference for how she manages everything. She showed us that the wines on the shelves were organized by country and then placed by region. Starting from the entrance the wines began in Spain and ended in Austria and the liquors were last. We learned that she and her husband opened the wine shop when it was just a run-down liquor store and used their restaurant experience to help guide them. She didn’t want to sell the more popular wines such as Santa Margherita, Pinot Grigio, and Yellowtail wines instead she was interested in selling organic wines from smaller producers to the community. She stated that great service was a priority and that anyone who entered would receive a warm welcome from the employees. It was clear that she took pride in having employees that are great with people and educated in the products they’re selling. She mentioned that her employees should be able to taste wine, be able to talk about it and pair it well with a meal. Walking around I noticed stars on the prices of the wine. She explained that the starts indicated if the wine was organic and that she placed small pieces of paper with said stars to act as a key so browsing the wines would be easier for customers. 

Ending the tour we were shown the back where the “cheap and tasty” labeled wines are placed. She shared how important it was to build strong connections with her customers and in doing that giving a positive influence on the community. We were able to see that as we noticed people having a great time browsing and even children playing with one of the employee’s dog. Overall I had a wonderful time visiting this wine shop. If you’re looking to buy great affordable wine in a small shop with great music and friendly faces, I would highly recommend “Slope Cellars.”

The sign outside the wine shop.

One of the walls with the wines placed on shelves, along with the roller library ladder.

A key that indicates how the wine is organized and what the stars on prices mean.

The wines in the back of the shop that are labeled “cheap and tasty.”

The red wine Atanasius Rot made in the Weinland region of Austria.

Wine Comparison

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Wine tasting notes are derived from specific components of sugar, acid, fruit, tannin and alcohol. When it comes to wine and food pairings, there’s science. The wine must complement the flavors of the meals components of acid, sugar, bitterness, fat, salt and umami. The food must balance and harmonize with that of the wine, matching one another’s intensity. Acidity can enhance food flavors, fats can amplify or provide richness, salt can tone down bitterness or astringency. The way a dish is prepared also matters, hence why there are different pairings for the same protein. Many restaurants want to optimize guest experience by providing wines that can elevate the flavors of their course. Extensive wine lists overwhelm and confuse guests. Such restaurants have a sommelier to guide guests wine selection. Extensive lists established the recent trend of “micro lists”. The two restaurants I will compare is Charlie Bird and River Café.
River Café is an American fine dining restaurant.  It features a romantic setting, overlooking a waterfront. It is arranged by grape varieties then by region to terroir. It is offered by glass, half bottle, bottle and uniquely larger bottles. The wine list features at least 10 pages of wines featuring sangiovese, port, dessert wine, syrah, pinot noir from France, California, Canada, U.S, Spain, Australia and more. The first observation I noticed is the lists has ice wine, which is wine produced from grapes that have been frozen on the vine creating a sweet wine. The second observation is the 1998 La Romanée BOUCHARD PÈRE & FILS Grand Cru, $1250 was higher priced than the same 1996 La Romanée BOUCHARD PÈRE & FILS Grand Cru, $1050. I felt as though the 1996 vintage should’ve been expensive based on longer fermenting. The last observation is the longest list on the menu is the Pinot Noir that features over 70 selections. Charlie Bird is a casual-fine dining Italian cuisine restaurant with small hip hop accented décor. The first observation is that bottles are offered only unlike River which has glass, bottle and half bottle. The second observation is the restaurant has a micro wine list unlike River’s extensive. The last observation is the lowest price point is $55 and highest is $295 in which options are available for both prices. This restaurant also organizes their list by grape varieties and regions. They both also feature vintage wines; however, River also has non vintage wine. Overall, I understand the importance in wine varieties at restaurants and I learned that some lists may be longer than others to accommodate each course and it is definitely a skill to be a sommelier.

Reference

Garret, D. (2017, May 4). Wine Pairing: Food & Wine Recipes and Pairings. Retrieved from https://www.winemag.com/2014/11/12/mastering-the-art-of-wine-and-food-pairings/

Wine Shop Analysis

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Featured wine from France from the region Champagne. Produced by Henriet Bazin using Pinot Noir. Reveals hints of red fruit of the grape with a silky texture and a pleasingly dry finish

DeForville – Barbesco 2016 a red wine from Italy. The grape variety is Nebbiolo.

   A white wine from the region Nahe in Germany. The variety is Riesling and the vintage is 2015.

One of the walls of the shop displaying their wide range of wines

  Under the circumstances that we’ve been under physically going to a wine store was not possible. I looked up wine stores and one of first ones to pop out was Prospect Wine Store which is located on 322 seventh Ave Brooklyn NY 11215. Their website was simple yet visually appealing and organized. Countries were listed as well as regions, price ranges everything was there in a orderly fashion. One of the things that stood out to me was their featured items section. For the time being the Henriet Bazin – Champagne Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs NV is their featured product.
I then called the shop, very politely I was greeted by Amy who happens to be the manager. I introduced myself and explained the task that was assigned. She agreed to talk briefly. She gave me a quick overview about herself explaining her history in the industry as well as her passion for wine. She emphasized their interest in organic and biodynamic wines. She said they strongly believed in giving their customers the best wines even if that meant not following the general trends. They also support their community and highly support small artisanal producers. Wine tastings, wine pairings and other workshops were done but now that the weather was getting better more often. She explained that a schedule was in place but had to be removed until further notice.
Amy also mentioned that the ongoing crisis is affecting them. The shop is trying to stay in business while following safety precautions. Phone orders are being taken but have a limited selection of what is actually being sold. Customers can either come to pick them up on the curbside of the shop or they deliver locally. Contact in the physical shop is extremely limited and staff is constantly cleaning. She apologized that she couldn’t stay on the call longer, but other calls were coming in. She happily invited me in after the chaos calmed down for a better experience as well as interview. She said to check out their website for their featured items as it was updated often as well as their Instagram for more visuals.